palnut

[coppercone2]

does this thing have a serious use or is it just for low cost?

https://www.advancecomponents.com/what-are-palnuts-pal-nuts/

it so bizarre. they are made from spring steel and have alot of claims in the advertising. I found one and I thought it was really tight to install and I don't like it. it seems bootleg

They have a large catalog of deranged looking parts that seem inspired by a mangled bag of Doritos.

[Kean]

They’re ideal for light weight and quick assembly (push on)
I also don’t like them

[coppercone2]

Do they actually work instead of loc tite though? It says their reinforcement. what are you supposed to do, put a nut inside of it and tighten that? How do you know you got torque when that thing is scraping thread?

They used it for thermocouple wire and I had to look up WTF it was, I thought it was some artifact from 1960 but it looks to be in business.


https://shop.robinsonheli.com/3-column/shop/parts/r22-parts/b330-15-palnut/


that seems mad bootleg to be in a helicopter

[jpanhalt]

That MS# is used in aircraft for instrument mounting.  (https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/hapages/instrumentmountingnuts.php )
It is or at least used to be quite common.  Unlike most of those shown in the first post, it is not push on.  It typically had threads for a 6-32 (very common) or 8-32 screw.  It's installed from the backside of the panel, if you are attaching something to the panel) or instrument (common) and the little legs keep it from falling out.  That's why the legs are so long.

As for the other types, you see them commonly on various shafts.  They are used as wheel retainers on cheap wagons and carts as they simply push on.

[Doctorandus_P]

The orignal link does not work for me. I am getting some website errors, so I did:

https://duckduckgo.com/?hps=1&q=Palnut&iax=images&ia=images

I think I have seen these used as a locknut on top of a regular nut.

These are definitely not simply push on as they have real thread, even if it's just one winding. There are washer variants that can be pushed onto simple round shafts. They act as a one way cam and bite into the steel when you attempt to remove them.

It is normal these are "tight to install". That is deliberate. The friction of the spring steel in the thread provides an anti-vibration function.
Using these for mounting instruments in helicopters seems a good use. They are stronger then their flimsy size suggests because they are made of spring steel, and also, obviously light weight.

[Kean]

The ones with a single or dual notch are likely not suitable for push on use, but the ones with many notches are. You'll find many references to them intended for use that way, and they've been around for a long time. I remember coming across them in lots of old equipment I dismantled in my childhood, both on plastic stakes and metal machine screws. I can't say that I recall ever seeing them used as lock nuts though, but clearly there are many variations for different industries based around a similar design concept.

Depending on the tooling used to apply them, I imagine you might need to turn a screw a partial turn to get them to a required torque (if applicable) - but either way, they don't generally come off easily which is as intended.

Unless we are talking about something different... I also cannot view the first link any more, and it seemed pretty generic when I first viewed it.  The ones linked by jpanhalt are completely different style to the ones per the DDG image search result (which were more like I expected).

[jpanhalt]

The MS ones I linked to were specifically identified in the second post by the TS.  While I am not quite sure what "mad booting" means, I assumed it meant not a good idea.  Their use to attach instruments is a good idea as they avoid having to add threads to the instruments and allow a little misalignment between the panel and instrument holes.

[madires]

The orignal link does not work for me.

Neither for me:
  BlogVault Firewall
  Blocked because of Malicious Activities
  Reference ID: ...

However, there's archive.org: https://web.archive.org/web/20231003044141/https://www.advancecomponents.com/what-are-palnuts-pal-nuts/

[madires]

applications:
- preventing someone from removing a bolt
- bolt safeguard (e.g. vibration)
- easy to spot tampering

[coppercone2]

the nord lock promotional video has a stamped check nut in it that has pretty dodgy performance losing out to the helical spring washer and only being slightly better then a plain washer

not sure if their different performance but it sure looks similar




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[mendip_discovery]

I have seen them often on plastic items that have a tendency to flop about. I remember seeing them on some of the peddle cars I had as a kid.

The most famous place I see them is on Tonka toys.

[coppercone2]

The most famous place I see them is on Tonka toys.

Most scientific electrical equipment that is not for electronics is actually made by tonka engineers, i.e. thermal

those other engineers just don't wanna pay for equipment!

I am still haunted by the wiring and design of that little laboratory peristaltic pump lol

[xrunner]

I hate 'em because you can't remove them easily or at all. I had to clean the keypad on an hp 5385A and I could not remove the damn things without damaging the plastic posts. I had to slip cleaning pads soaked with alcohol underneath the keypad area and move them around to clean it. Grrrr ...

[Smokey]

I hate 'em because you can't remove them easily or at all. I had to clean the keypad on an hp 5385A and I could not remove the damn things...

.... did you... heh... bust your palnut?  heh...

[xrunner]

I hate 'em because you can't remove them easily or at all. I had to clean the keypad on an hp 5385A and I could not remove the damn things...

.... did you... heh... bust your palnut?  heh...

No but I wanted to bust the design engineer that chose to use them! 

[coppercone2]

their very tight, it will dig into plastic

wait thats not threaded lol

[xrunner]

Oh I found a helpful tutorial that shows how to remove them, now I can clean the hp keyboard contacts like I really wanted to.

 

[SeanB]

Yes the design is all for fast assembly, either you push on and it never is removed, or it is screwed on and makes it's own threads, or it is screwed on a thread, and self locks, or is pushed onto a thread and it self tightens with a half turn only. Removal is in most cases not considered at all, only for the last type, where the advantage over a nut is integrated washer, and light mass, so saving both 5 seconds during assembly, and 2g in mass, so you can come in under the design mass, and get that bonus.

[jpanhalt]

Oh I found a helpful tutorial that shows how to remove them, now I can clean the hp keyboard contacts like I really wanted to.

I have used similar methods for steel posts/axles but would have doubts whether a plastic post will take the abuse. If it were just a few, I might try a dental probe to bend up some of the spring leaves and then try to twist it off.  That will score the plastic but perhaps not break it.  You can thank HP for not using heat on a shorter post to weld/rivet it together.